


Happy

by WhirlyBird70



Series: let the endless dream guide your restless spirit [5]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, gin has a crew now, gin is just so in love with sanji hes just dumb about it, gins first mate has no temperature gage, set post wci btw, straw hat parties top all other parties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22281835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhirlyBird70/pseuds/WhirlyBird70
Summary: Six months after Gin’s life was changed by a hot meal and cigarette smoke on the Baratie of all places, he’s out on the Grand Line, chasing his dream – to escape from the life Krieg built, and create one better, one that is a true pirate’s life.And six months after Gin last saw him, he sees Sanji’s grey blue eyes again… in the most hideous wanted poster he’s ever seen.He promptly spits out his coffee when his first mate gives the paper with it to him at breakfast.“What thefuck-"Prompt answer for anon who requested“may I ask for a Gin/Sanji that’s happy? I loved how super sad it was in the au but I would really like Gin meeting the crew/Luffy without it being so horribly sad. (also sanji going “hey so this is my bf” amuses me)”
Relationships: Gin & Vinsmoke Sanji, Gin/Vinsmoke Sanji
Series: let the endless dream guide your restless spirit [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605946
Comments: 22
Kudos: 215





	Happy

Six months after Gin’s life was changed by a hot meal and cigarette smoke on the Baratie of all places, he’s out on the Grand Line, chasing his dream – to escape from the life Krieg built, and create one better, one that is a true pirate’s life.

And six months after Gin last saw him, he sees Sanji’s grey blue eyes again… in the most hideous wanted poster he’s ever seen.

He promptly spits out his coffee when his first mate gives the paper with it to him at breakfast.

“What the _fuck-“_

Kinzo has the patience of a saint as he speaks while washing the coffee from his face (how the hell is the man not screaming from the hot liquid?)

“Straw Hat Luffy and crew razed Ennies Lobby to the ground eight days ago while seizing Devil Child Nico Robin from custody. All crew members received bounties and escaped Vice Admiral Garp on their way out of Water Seven, and are currently at large. Isn’t…” And here, a small smile breaks out on Kinzo’s face. “ _Sanji_ on that crew? It appears he has a bounty higher than yours’s now captain. 77,000,000 Belli?”

“That’s _not_ Sanji.”

It can’t be.

The wanted poster is hand drawn, but the artist must be _blind_ because there is no way Sanji’s nose looks like that, or his lips, and his eyes are sea blue not whatever _that_ is.

The only thing they got right even slightly is his eyebrow, but even that could take some criticism.

“You sure captain?” Hashi asks from his corner of the galley. “Seems like he fits the description – blue eyes, blond hair, smoker, weird eye brow.”

“That’s _NOT_ Sanji! It’s – its- “ Gin can’t even finish his sentence. It’s only been six months, surely Sanji hasn’t changed that much? Getting stronger he can picture (The paper is vague, doesn’t tell a lot, damn marine supporters, but isn’t Ennies Lobby the supposed home of CP9?) but this? No.

“It’s a stranger? Doesn’t have heaven made food?”

“Smile sent from heaven?”

“Eyes like the sea?”

“Super soft hands?”

“The kindest voice on earth?”

“SHUT UP! How do you even know all that?” His face is red. Man Demon Gin has never been so humiliated.

“You talk about him a lot when you’re… inebriated.” Kinzo states, taking a sip of his own coffee (is it boiling? Its boiling. Does his first mate have secret devil fruit powers or does he have no pain receptors?) to avoid continuing.

“CAPTAIN HAS A CRUSH!~” He is going to toss Hashi overboard, devil fruit or not.

“OOOOOH!”

“LIKE IT WAS A SECRET!”

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!” Gin slaps a hand to his head. “Breakfast is over, I do not have a crush, and that is not what Sanji looks like – and do you really want to insult a man who is worth twice all of your bounties and just smacked CP9 into the ground?”

Finally, his crew shuts up.

“Like I thought. Get to your stations – weather looks dark outside, might be a storm.”

And the Silver Horn Pirates rush to do as their captain orders – but not without a few passing remarks.

“Captain and Sanji Kissing in a tree – K – I – S – S –“

_Splash._

_“SHUT UP!”_

_-_

Another two months go by, full of teasing and laughter from his crew about Sanji, but it’s been quiet for the most part. The Straw hats haven’t made any big news officially, but there are rumors that Moira’s been kicked out of his position, and there’s only one crew crazy enough to do that unintentionally, so Gin’s sure that their doing all right.

Then the newspaper flops in his lap. It’s Kinzo again, and Sanji half expects it to be another Sanji poster – he likes to give him them, as if whoever on that poster can take the place of _Sanji_ , but something in his face tells Gin otherwise.

He sets his cup down, and opens the paper.

_STRAW-HAT LUFFY ATTACKS CELESTIAL DRAGON – CREW DISAPPEARS AFTER RESPONSE FROM WARLORD KUMA_

Oh no – _Sanji. Luffy. The rest of them – oh **no.**_

There’s an odd note in his voice as he looks up at Kinzo. “Tell the crew to prepare to set sail. We head for Sabaody in three hours.”

Kinzo only nods – they’re five islands away, possible more because this is the Grand Line of all places, but half the crew is from Don Krieg’s armada.

They were at the Baratie when Luffy saved them, when Sanji gave them food. They know what’s at stake – they _have_ to help the Straw Hats.

And so they will.

-

Three weeks later, Fire Fist Ace and Whitebeard are _dead,_ and Straw Hat has reappeared at Marineford to ring in a new era.

Gin has tears in his eyes when he learns that Straw Hat is okay, because if he knows anyone, he knows that Straw Hat will never leave his nakama behind, and Sanji is nakama.

Sanji is alive.

(And the other straw hats, but forgive Gin for being biases, alright?)

Now he just has to find him.

-

On Sabaody, he does not meet Sanji – instead, he finds the face on the wanted poster, protecting _Sanji’s_ ship.

“Duval?” Gin asks dubiously, as the man before him grins and attempts to wink, showing off his new face with the old wanted poster as comparison.

“In the handsome flesh! Are you friends of the Straw hats?”

“Yeah… One moment please?”

“Certainly!”

Gin turns to his crew with the most shit-eating grin.

“I told you it wasn’t Sanji.”

He turns back to Duval, not without catching a glimpse of resignation from his crew. He _was_ right.

“So Duval –“

“Yes?”

“You know when the Straw Hats are going to meet back up?” Gin wasn’t stupid. He’s seen the face of a king, and Sanji was on that King’s crew. There was no way they would be down for long.

Duval looks sad, or at least as sad as he can get with that face. “No, we do not… We don’t even know if they are coming back all.”

Again, Gin’s not stupid. Or maybe he is, he just has unwavering faith in a captain that isn’t his and a cook he’d only met once.

“But we will protect their beloved ship! Whatever it takes!” There’s a fire in Duval’s eyes, one Gin’s sure is matched on his own face.

“Of course – but do you have any idea where they are now?”

“Well…”

-

Duval doesn’t have an answer, but he does have a rumor, and that rumor is that the Straw Hats were scattered to the winds with a swipe of a paw, more literal than the papers stated.

Gin figured it would go like this. The Straw Hats went at their own pace ( _their own world-toppling, war declaring, impossible pace that no one else could keep up with-)_ and it was unlikely that they would be seen before they wanted to be seen.

Likely in an international incident.

That doesn’t mean Gin won’t stop searching and training for the day he meets Sanji again.

He doesn’t know what the other is doing, but it has something to do with Straw Hat’s message – and Gin doesn’t think Sanji would take the death of his captain’s brother lying down.

Sanji’s getting stronger out there somewhere on the grand line, and like hell if Gin is falling behind.

-

It takes two and a half years to find him, but at least by then he can show his crew an _actual_ picture of Sanji’s face – if in that _stupid_ caricature he gets around girls.

Kinzo smiles at it, hands deep in boiling water as he washes the plates after dinner, and asks genteelly “That your man Captain?”

Gin blushes very, very hard before changing the topic entirely. “Yeah – but I’m wondering about the Only Alive bit – what do you think it means?"

“No clue – but its no surprise the bounty went up – Sabaody’s a wreck from what I here, and Fish Man Island’s got a new protectorate.”

“Rumors say Straw Hat ticked off Big Mom.”

“Only one Island in in the New World and this is what they do? Damn.”

“We better catch up then, aye Kinzo?” Gin grins.

“Aye Captain.”

“MEN! SET SAIL FOR THE NEW WORLD!”

“AYE!”

-

 _Vinsmoke Sanji,_ the papers say, and Gin thinks back to the flowing restaurant in the East Blue and crosses it out. In its place is _Black Leg_ , stark and true, and it’s a much better fit.

 _Black Leg Sanji_ ’s Captain better get him back or Gin’s going to have to fight an Emperor and he and his crew are all going to die because Sanji went to go get married.

-

A week later, and Luffy had apparently plotted to assassinate Big Mom and ended up defeated two of her Sweet Commanders.

Sanji has a new bounty, and Gin doesn’t know why he even bothered to worry.

When he pictured meeting Sanji again, he imagined it in battle, showing off his new skills and he and Sanji fighting back to back.

He did _not_ picture it in the back alley of some bar in the New World, where he was taking a break from the commotion inside.

Apparently, someone had died in the middle of eating and then rose again. Gin doesn’t want to know, so he goes out to smoke a bit.

“ _Damnit_ ” he mutters, realizing he doesn’t have his lighter on him.

“Need a light?”

“Yea actually, Tha-” Gin stops dead, and stares at the face in front of him that’s gently smiling beneath a mop of blond hair.

The eyebrows are as distinct as ever, if on a different side, and the blue of his eyes stands out even now. (Privately, Gin thinks they might be the color of the _All Blue_ that mythic ocean that Sanji plans to find – he has no doubt he will.) There’s a goatee beneath his lips, quirked up in a smile while biting on an unlit cigarette. The suit and tie is a fashion statement few wear so well on the Grand Line and that just means the person standing in front of him is none other than –

“ _Sanji_ ,” Gin breathes and feels his heart swell.

“Hey Gin – long time no see.” A hand reaches out to light the cigarette between Gin’s teeth and then his own, and Sanji is almost as tall as him now, and smiling, and _strong and –_

_-_

A giant _dork._

They found a cafe two streets over from the bar where they are now currently sitting, eating something other than greasy bar food and probably poisoned drinks.

According to Sanji, it was his Captain who had collapsed in his food and caused the commotion.

“He’s fine,” Sanji tells Gin carelessly, a smile on his face still – he hasn’t stopped smiling since he met Gin again, something Gin is not so secretly proud of – “Shitty rubber captain just does that sometimes. You get used to it. Chopper’s trying to work something out though –“

“Chopper? Isn’t he your pet?”

Sanji laughs, bright and bold, and he’s so much more than he ever was on the Baratie. “I forgot! You haven’t seen us since the Baratie have you? We have a lot more people on our crew –“

“Are they anything like their wanted posters? I’ve been trying to find you by them and it hasn’t been working out so well…”

Heck. He just admitted he had been trying to find Sanji. _Way to go you dumb shit._

But Sanji just dusts the ashes off his cigarette and nods to him. “I knew you’d find us. You promised, didn’t you?”

_I’ll grow stronger, without Don Krieg, and meet you all on the Grand Line!_

He had, hadn’t he? And the Straw Hats put a lot of faith in promises.

“I guess I did – I definitely grew stronger too. And I have my own crew – though they aren’t as weird as yours.”

“Gin. We have a walking, talking, _shitting_ skeleton pop star on our crew and our doctor is a reindeer. _Nothing_ ’s weirder than our crew.”

“You have a _what_ for your doctor?” Oh god, he’s missed so much. He hates the newspaper.

-

Eventually, Sanji convinces Gin to introduce him to his crew after learning that Gin became his own pirate captain.

“No one can order you around, now, right?” There’s an innuendo in there somewhere, but frankly, Gin’s too nervous to care.

His crew always takes great joy in embarrassing him, and introducing him to _Sanji_ , where most of the teasing stems from, is going to be hell.

 _Whatever._ He’ll have proved them wrong at least. – and the rest of the crew who had only gotten glimpses of Sanji at the Baratie when he was smacking down the rest of the crew, will get the chance to meet him.

He entertains the thought of reaching for Sanji’s hand, but settles for brushing his knuckles and shoulders with him instead.

At the Baratie, he hadn’t known this man long – not long enough – and now, he’s endlessly curious to know more.

( _What’s his favorite food? His favorite color? Memory? Place? What does he think of me?_ He thinks, casting glances at the man beside him as they talk about anything and everything down the streets, fitting like two puzzle pieces with frayed ends – perfectly matching but too old to quite click perfectly immediately.

He wonders, too, what Sanji will think of the crew.)

Eventually, they reach the _Silver Serpent_ (sue him – he like’s the silver motif, its better than the demon one at any rate. (There are too many demons on this wretched sea anyway.)), its masts. Reaching high into the sky with the skull waving in the breeze. Sanji smiles at the engravings on the side (waves with metal inlays – Gin wanted this ship to carry them for years, and its grand enough to do so.)

“Nice ship,” He compliments and Gin grins in return.

“Wait till you see the crew.” He cups his mouth and prepares to shout. “MEN! THERE’S SOMEONE YOU NEED TO MEET!”

Heads pop up all over the ship, peering at Gin before wild expressions cross their faces.

“Holy Shit-“

“Is that who I think it is?”

“Captains brought a guy home!”

“Is that him?”

“Black-leg?”

“Kinzo – Kinzo wake up you need to see this” Hashi nudges the first mate awake before pointing at the plank that Sanji and Gin are climbing up. “It’s _him.”_

Sanji looks positively bewildered, more so when Gin offers a meager explanation. “I, uh, may have talked about you. A lot, actually. Maybe?”

Sanji snickers, and goes to introduce himself to the crew, leaving Gin to contemplate his life decisions.

“Hello everyone, the name’s Sanji – though I hear you already know that?”

“Damn right we do – Captain won’t shut up about you.” Kinzo answers for the entirety of the crew. “I’m Kinzo, the Silver Horn Pirate’s first mate.”

“Nice to meet you then.”

“And I’m Hashi! Cook aboard this ship! Tell me your secrets!”

“Wha-“

“Hashi, stop, damn it you can get cooking lessons later.”

“Actually,” Sanji interjects, before Gin can direct his crew to bring out food and such, “You can have them now. Luffy will want to meet all of you, and that means a party.”

In true pirate fashion, the deck explodes with joy.

“PARTY! AYE!”

“On the Sunny of course – I’ve been wanting to show you it.” And doesn’t _that_ send butterflies down Gin’s spine. “Follow me!”

And the crew charges after the man who saved Gin’s life, leaving him to catch up.

-

Gin’s seen the Sunny before, not that Sanji knows, but seeing her with her crew aboard is something entirely different. The Soul King’s providing music, and there is a reindeer with chopsticks up his nose while a cyborg with two extra arms cheers him on. The owner of those arms is chuckling as she watches Sanji and a green haired swordsman – still wrapped in as many bandages as he had been at the Baratie – fight with fire and steel.

That’s nothing on the captain of the crew, whose downing ten-times his body weight in meat alone who. Laughs hysterically with the story telling sniper as the navigator punches Zoro and Sanji on the head to get them to stop.

The effect is instantaneous as Zoro. Immediately grumbles about witches and Sanji becomes pliant to her demands.

Thousand Sunny is so much _more_ livelier now, with her crew filling up the empty space on deck and lanterns strung about the rigging. There’s platters of food and music and life and joy, things Gin had experienced before but never quite to this magnitude.

And according to Usopp, this is a small-scale party.

Bonfires on Sky Islands, parties at the Ryugu Palace, dancing with former zombies on a floating island ship in the middle of the Floridian triangle-

This crew has been _everywhere_.

(And, Gin knows, they are going to the end – to _Raftel_ – and if he knows anything, they will find a way to go beyond that as well.)

“So,” Sanji startles him, now broken away from the mosshead, “What do you think?” And there’s something in his eyes that says _I want you to like them_ but also _They are mine and I won’t care if don’t._ Gin understands the feeling.

“They’re wild.” Gin grins – he’s been doing that a lot today, hasn’t he? More than usual? “I like them.”

“Good!” They are close enough that Gin can smell the alcohol on Sanji’s breath, and he can see the droplets that have spattered on his impeccable suit and tie – loose now, that the party is in full swing, but still giving him an air of _I know what the fuck I’m doing._

Sanji’s just like that, he guesses.

Suddenly, Sanji blinks around, noticing the crew and how Luffy has been distracted from the food by now by the swordsman’s cheering of ‘Sogeking’s theme’.

“Come on,” He says, hauling Gin to his feet, “I want to show you something.”

Gin thinks about making a dick joke, but decides to follow Sanji instead.

-

They go to the back of the Sunny, where the party’s music is only a mute faded sound, and the water lapping on the edge of the boat in their harmony. The sun has just set, so there’s still pink in the sky, but the moon is already casting light upon the quiet waves of this tropical port town cove.

It’s nice as they lean arms crossed over the railing.

(It’s a good place for a confession.)

Sanji offers Gin a smoke and when he declines, shrugs and lights one for himself.

“Your crew tells me you were talking about me?”

Sanji’s trying to be suave again. Its working. Gin is so screwed.

“Maybe. What about it?” He deflects.

Sanji flicks some ashes out to the water. “Just wanted to know if it was true. If you really thought I was all that.”

“Why?” Sanji’s quiet after this.

Gin doesn’t speak up to offer an explanation, to say _yes I **do** think you’re the most amazing cook I ever met, and that time where we held hands on the Baratie was the best in my life, and every other island we go to I hear about how kind you were, and who couldn’t think you were all that?_

Because Gin doesn’t really speak in waxing poetry unless he’s had a few to many drinks, and he’s only had two tonight, shoved into his hands by the man next to him himself.

He does, however, hope Sanji understands all that.

By the look that he’s giving Gin, he does. And finally, he speaks. “Cause it depends if I want to do _this_ or not.”

As he says that enunciated _this_ , he reaches over and grabs Gin’s hand where its gripping the railing.

-

Here’s the thing. Sanji and Gin knew each other for five days before Don Krieg was defeated. In that time, Sanji cooked Gin the best meal he had ever had in his life, and shared a room with him as Giin washed dishes to work off the debt.

(Someone had to, as the new chore boy kept dropping them instead of washing them.)

On the last day, Gin had left and brought his former captain on to the Baratie, feeling so sick about what he was doing, and then left the Baratie freed and ready to create his own crew.

Before that, Gin and Sanji talked, and held hands, and it felt like a cheesy teen romance but somehow Gin had found his other half, in a way.

It’s a small history, and history that has not gone away despite the many ports they’ve visited.

Gin’s thankful for that, because it means he can smile as he grabs Sanji’s hands back, and say “Yeah. I meant it.”

And Sanji’s smile as he leans in for a kiss means _everything_ to him.

He tastes like smoke and alcohol and the aftermath of a Straw Hat party, and something explodes in Gin’s chests.

 _Hell,_ he’s happy.

-

Of course, that isn’t the end of it. After a couple more ~~heated~~ kisses and quiet moments, Sanji jumps up and drags Gin back to the party.

“HEY!” He shouts, loud and clear from the upper deck. “HEY EVERYONE! LOOK!”

Everyone looks.

“THIS IS MY BOYFRIEND NOW!” And he holds Gin’s hand up in the air, because maybe they snuck into the kitchen before coming out here and stole drinks from Zoro’s stash, because he doesn’t think Sanji would want to raise Gin’s hand like it was a wrestling champion winner.

There’s a moment of silence after the announcement, before the deck explodes into motion and raucous cheering.

“ABOUT TIME SHITTY COOK!”“FINALLY!”

“HELL YEAH CAPTAIN!”

“WOOHOO! YAY! SANJI!”  
  
Gin doesn’t care though, not now, and not next morning when he has the worst headache of his life and the most handsome man in the world at his side.

Sanji smiles at him, and he smiles back.

Happy, with the man he searched for at last.

**Author's Note:**

> Anon I hope you enjoyed! Sorry for the wait!
> 
> This was fun to right but I don't think I quite got gin's character down - Smoke And Sea Salt was easier cause it was more introspective and less dialogue, but I need to practice happy and talking in writing so!!! Here you go.
> 
> Kinzo is the first mate, and has no devil fruit, and is an extremely patient man who likes things boiling hot. Hashi has eaten an unnamed devil fruit that essentially allows him to turn his body parts into chopsticks and eat anything he can pick up with them - think Inazuma's snip snip fruit. 
> 
> Anyway, as always, comment if you see any mistakes or have any suggestions! Thanks for reading!
> 
> -Whirly
> 
> [My Tumblr!](<a%20href=) Come yell at me!


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